


back and forth

by broship_addict



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Exchange, Multi, Post-Canon, lots of friendship things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8440054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broship_addict/pseuds/broship_addict
Summary: Years later Andrew and Neil find themselves revisiting Palmetto. It's a lot more fun than Andrew's ready to admit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for constllations on tumblr as part of the aftgexchange.

 It had taken a lot of convincing before their coaches finally relented and gave them permission to drive themselves to games. Neil likes it better this way; the two of them speeding along interstates, almost like when they were still in university and in need of a breather. He knows Andrew also prefers this, if his tendency to randomly pull over and steal kisses are any indication.

Neil looks out the window and watches everything go by. If they take the turnoff _here_ –

“I know what you’re thinking,” Andrew says, not even bothering to take his eyes off of the road to look at Neil. “Don’t.”

He feels a small smile make its way onto his face, but stays turned away so Andrew can’t complain. “Don’t think it or don’t say it? Because that isn’t a ‘no’”, he retorts, their bickering so ingrained into conversation by this point that it’s almost automatic. The car’s getting hot, so he reaches over to turn on the air con. “There’s no point of _not_ going to Palmetto if we’ll be playing in North Carolina,” Neil says.

“Of course there’s a point. I don’t want to have to make nice with whichever sob stories Coach got his hands on this time.”

Both of them notice the slip-up but neither comment on it. Neil’s smile grows as he sneaks his hand over the gear shift and Andrew’s own, just resting it there lightly.

Both of them also know that before the drive back, somehow they’ll end up on a detour to the Foxhole Court.

 

* * *

 

“I’ll call Dan to tell her we’re going to be interrupting practice tomorrow,” Neil says. Andrew rolls his eyes but doesn’t waste any effort trying to protest.

 

* * *

 

The grin on Dan’s face when she spots them is blinding. She pulls Neil in for a hug and he lets her, squeezing back slightly before rejoining Andrew’s side. His partner isn’t given the same treatment. Instead, Dan smiles at him slightly warmer than she did during her years as captain.

“Good game against the Panthers,” she tells them. “I’m surprised Neil managed to make it through second half without someone trying to pound his face in.”

“We’ve been working on his talking problem,” Andrew says, eventually settling onto the bleachers on Neil’s opposite side. He picks at his nails and resolutely refuses to watch the new Foxes scrimmage.

Dan opens her mouth, but turns away quickly when a backliner fouls her mark. “What the hell, Evans? That was illegal and you know it!” She bangs a bit on the plexiglass to make her point before slumping back down, the player only deigning to give her a cocky salute.

Neil laughs, remembering Andrew’s own instigative habits. He leans forward a little, to see better. “How’s Wymack doing? He’s letting you take charge of practices now?”

“Some of them,” Dan says. “He’s in his office right now, if you want to see him. We’ve been trying to organize a few practice scrimmages to see if the team would stop fighting each other long enough to play against someone else.”

It’s funny how some things don’t change, Neil thinks, watching the offensive dealer try to go for a shot from half court. The Foxes had managed to rise up the ranks during his years with them, but the players are still just as troubled and violent as before. “We’ll see him later,” he decides. “I’m fine with watching.”

Andrew scoffs, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like “Junkie”, and bringing Dan’s attention back to him.

“Renee?” she asks, gesturing at his hands and painted black nails.

Because he knows Andrew won’t bother answering, Neil says, “She tried to teach me how to do his nails during our last Skype call. Andrew couldn’t stop complaining.”

“You were doing a shitty job,” Andrew interrupts. “It shouldn’t be that hard to keep the paint on my nails instead of my skin.”

Neil glares at him and Andrew gazes back, unimpressed. He wonders if it’s worth pointing out that the cats weren’t helping matters – King Fluff had shamelessly done his best to occupy Neil’s attention the entire time, and Renee, too busy laughing, didn’t help very much.

Dan reaches over and ruffles his hair as Neil protests. “I guess even Renee can’t perform miracles.”

When they’ve finally settled back down, Neil asks about Matt, as if they hadn’t called each other two days ago just to talk about Sir’s questionable habits. While he and Andrew have found their way onto the same team, Matt’s still playing a state away from Palmetto.

“He says he can get a day off in a week,” Dan tells him, smiling as she subconsciously twists the simple band on her finger. “So we’re planning for date night.”

“That’s nice,” Neil says and he means it. The seasons when he and Andrew were on separate teams were hell, and he hopes that his friends will be able to get some time together. Andrew shifts a little in his spot and Neil’s surprised to find himself leaning against him. With the break in their conversation, Neil has a moment to look at the Foxes on court, where he sees a striker stumble in his footwork and miss a shot that should have been easy. Dan’s eyes light up while Andrew rolls his.

“I’m surprised it took this long,” she comments as Neil hastily gets up. “Gear closet’s unlocked; there should be enough for a set.”

There was a time when being so predictable would have terrified him. Now, Neil just shoots a pleading look Andrew’s way. With a sigh, he follows, leaving Dan alone and looking entirely too pleased.

“It’s been years and you still can’t stand not being on a court,” Andrew scoffs as they pull on mismatched pieces of gear. He doesn’t quite succeed in looking annoyed, only exasperated.

“And you can’t stand not pretending to hate it.”

“I told you, I don’t care enough to hate Exy, nor to pretend that I do.”

Neil grins and Andrew manages to elbow him on his unprotected gut. Biting back a response, Neil pulls a practice pinny over the borrowed gear and moves to the racquets. He grabs the heaviest and shortest one he can find, as well as the goalkeeper’s racquet that best resembles Andrew’s, before finally returning to his partner.

“You ready?”

Rolling his eyes, Andrew says, “This isn’t a game. Don’t you fucking dare pull something because I’m not carrying you back to the car.”

Still, there’s something familiar about walking through the halls of the Foxhole Court. _This used to be home_ , Neil thinks. Looking at Andrew, he understands that home can be a person, too. Dan sees them as they circle outer court and calls for a pause in the scrimmage.

What little control the newest Foxes had before is gone quickly when they find themselves on court with two of Palmetto’s most famous alumni. A couple try to swarm Andrew and Neil, while others stay back out of pure stubbornness. Neil answers basic questions, nudging Andrew to remind him that maiming someone isn’t an option.

“Shut up and get back into position,” Dan hollers and for a moment, she sounds just like Wymack. “They’re here to play, not to be interviewed, so maybe some of you might get something out of this.”

“Yes, Coach,” says Neil. He doesn’t miss the way Dan lights up as he makes his way to first quarter and Andrew shuffles over to the goal.

Dan pulls the striker and goalkeeper that they’re replacing off, telling them, “Watch and learn.” Neil’s mark is actually close to his size, maybe an inch taller and not that much heavier. By the look she gives him, she’s not willing to let that be a disadvantage.

At Dan’s whistle the ball is thrown into play and suddenly it’s just Neil and Exy.

 

* * *

 

“You know,” says Wymack, looking over the two of them with what could be interpreted as fondness. “I could have sworn you graduated years ago.”

“What can I say, Coach? We missed your stellar pep talks.”

Any affection is replaced quickly with a scowl as Wymack crosses his arms. “Well, I sure didn’t miss your shitty attitude, Minyard.”

The team’s observing in interest, so Dan threatens them with suicide runs if they don’t get their asses back on court. Neil’s pleased with the way the striker from before is working to correct his footwork, moving more hesitantly but in a way that leaves a lot more options open.

Wymack watches Dan proudly, and not for the first time Neil thinks that Kevin might have gained some sort of half-sister as well as a father. She’s only working as an assistant coach, but when Wymack retires, there’s no doubt that Dan would be able to run the Foxes with the same fierceness he remembers. When everyone’s finally gone, Wymack gestures at Andrew and Neil to follow him, bringing them up to the lounge room.

Looking at it sends a wave of nostalgia through Neil.

The chairs and couch had been moved, but everything else seems the same. The trophy they had won during Neil’s freshman year sits with two others, the biggest difference being that the first one’s still on Allison’s over-the-top pedestal. It’s obvious that Dan’s kept up the picture wall since she returned, because there are a few on there that Neil can’t remember. His eyes are caught by the ones he knows the most, though: the pictures of the upperclassmen before they left, of the team when they beat the Ravens, of Andrew and Neil standing at the Atlanta airport and looking so much smaller than they are now. He turns to look at Andrew and catches him staring as well, looking instead at the picture Renee insisted that they take together.

“One day you’ll have to admit that you had fun with them,” Neil says, just to provoke a reaction.

Andrew disappoints and only huffs in response, going after Wymack, who had just come back from his office with a bottle of whiskey.

“His new coaches don’t have to bribe him to play anymore?” he asks Neil, shooting a suspicious look Andrew’s way before pulling out plastic cups from a cabinet.

“Above your pay grade,” Andrew says instead and Wymack sighs in exasperation.

“No amount of pay was enough for you little shits.”

Neil thinks that maybe Wymack really did miss them, if he’s willing to share his stash of booze with Andrew. He declines a drink of his own and watches in amusement as they stare each other down.

“I see that even with a PR department, Josten still hasn’t learned how to stop provoking others,” Wymack observes, once he finishes his cup.

Andrew’s mouth curves into a vicious smile that’s been appearing much more frequently and he snorts rudely. When Neil opens his mouth to reply, Andrew blocks him, hand hovering just a breath away from his lips.

“We’re working on it.” Wymack’s eyebrow goes up, and Neil suddenly remembers that he was the first one to realize that there was something between the two of them.

“Not my problem anymore,” he finally shrugs. “Take a shower, practice should be over soon. Abby’s making extra for dinner tonight.”

 

* * *

 

Neil’s staring at the court once the team files out to clean up, drinking in the sight. The stadium’s smaller than the ones he’s used to now, maybe a bit grubbier than before, but he can still imagine it filled with thousands of screaming fans.

“Enough,” says Andrew, coming up from behind him. “Stop staring.”

“It’s nice being back here.”

“It’s just another court.”

Neil doesn’t know how to say that it’s the first place where he started feeling _real_ , where Neil Josten started becoming more than a name.

By the quirk of Andrew’s eyebrow, he’s figured it out already. “ _Unless you want me to fuck you on court, get in the car_ ,” he says in Russian, voice low and husky.

Neil blinks. He thinks about it for a bit, feels his cheeks redden under the bright stadium lights. “ _Maybe next time_ ,” he finally manages to reply. “ _Abby’s probably waiting for us_.”

“ _Next time_ ,” Andrew echoes, equal parts disbelief and promise as they leave the court behind.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, dinner with Abby, Wymack, and Dan becomes crashing at Abby’s house with Wymack and Dan. Neil shouldn’t be so surprised that she’s kept all of the spare bedrooms ready as he and Andrew arrange themselves on the mattress.

They finally figure out a comfortable position on the too-small bed, one that they haven’t had to fit into since university. It ends up with Andrew’s back pressed against the wall and his arm loosely draped over Neil’s waist, ready to tether him if he’s about to fall off the bed or push him if he says something annoying. For a moment Neil just lies there, breaths mixing with Andrew’s and straining to hear anything else in the house. Dan had gone to bed alone, but Wymack stayed out suspiciously late until Andrew and Neil finally left.

“ _Yes or no?_ ”

“ _Yes,_ ” Neil whispers. He reaches out and threads his fingers in Andrew’s hair, a place his partner had previously said would stay a _yes_ until it becomes a _no_. “ _Kisses only_.”

 _Okay_ , says Andrew’s mouth, warm and wanting against his own.

They fall asleep together and wake to each other. They’re miles away from their apartment and a fifteen minute drive from Palmetto and all Neil can think is that he’s home.

“It was great to see you again,” Dan tells Neil over a huge mug of coffee, hair a mess and looking as though she’d love to cancel morning practice. He shuffles to the seat across from her and nurses his own caffeine.

Abby soon comes over with the leftover pie from the night before in a plastic container, placing it in front of Andrew. He takes it without a thank you, but somehow manages to look less grumpy enough for her to hear it anyways. Wymack grunts from his spot in front of the TV, where he’s watching a channel do an overview of Kevin’s last game.

“Next time would probably be during your game against Matt,” Dan continues. “He’s gonna kick your ass, by the way.”

Grinning, Neil says, “He’ll have to figure out how to keep up with me first.”

“Nah, crushing someone as tiny as you won’t be a problem.”

Andrew, bored of their preemptive shit-talking, rolls his eyes and fishes out a slice of pie to have with his coffee. Neil sneaks his hand into Andrew’s free one, ignoring the looks on everyone else’s faces and instead focusing on the chipped nail polish. Renee had suggested something pastel for the next time, so long as Neil’s able to paint an even coat.

He thinks of her, on the other side of the world with Peace Corps, doing something she believes in. He thinks of Nicky in Germany, Aaron finishing med school, Allison starting her own label; of Matt and Kevin and the thrill of being on court with them again. Neil thinks of Dan and Wymack and second, third, twenty-fourth chances and smiles broadly.

“I guess we’ll find out,” he says.

 

* * *

 

When he and Andrew are finally on the interstate again, heading back to their apartment and cats, and leaving Palmetto behind for what won’t be the last time, Neil thinks about their promise of _next tim_ e and laughs.


End file.
